I watched this film after much of the controversy about it at Cannes had passed. The buzz in the U.S. press was that the film was slanted and reflected Lars Von Trier's ignorance of American society. Such arguments are specious on their face--there are examples of great literature and film making where the creator never set foot in the setting, as any reader of Shakespeare well knows. So discounting the self-appointed guardians of America, what exactly is this film about, what are the film's merits and why does it evoke such strong feelings from its audience, especially American ones? What Von Trier has done is take several American icons: the gangster, the small town, the woman in distress, the ideal of the common person, the local sage and the wise elder gentleman doctor, and has turned them on their head to create a timeless play about human motivation, greed and the corrupting influence of power. The people of Dogville are on the surface simple and decent people. Grace's arrival and her helplessness is the catalyst that, step by step, tempts the people of Dogville to inflict upon her greater and greater humiliations to feed their now unrestrained desires. So complete is her humiliation that the twist at the end leaves the viewer very little sympathy for the fate of Dogville's citizens. It is a powerful message and the judgment of the characters is one that takes no prisoners. That there are more than a few examples of this behavior in contemporary American society (and in the American past) and that it confronts these issues directly is the reason for the controversy surrounding it and--apart from the brilliant acting, especially by Ms. Kidman and Paul Bettany--what makes it great art. Von Trier has made a movie that is part of the quintessential American proletarian artistic tradition and its setting in 1930s America is part of the film's genius. That he is not an American and that this movie did not originate in Hollywood should give us all pause. There is a scene in which Grace confronts the people of Dogville with a critique of their bad behavior. Their response is to either deny the truth of what she has said or to blame Grace herself for tempting them. This movie, without being preachy or dogmatic, attempts to provide its own critique and received much the same reaction as the movie's protagonist. I would not be surprised if this was Von Trier's original intent. Dogville is a disturbing and powerful film.

So many have described the events of this film, especially the character of Grace (Nicole Kidman). The screenwriter and director offer us the very armpit of existence. What is more ugly than offering to help someone whose life may be in danger, and then using her vulnerability to get their way. Like a Peckinpaugh film, the more transgressions, the greater the reprisals. I could never watch this film again because it sets the head spinning with the intense violence. Kidman is excellent but what message are we to take from it?

It probably won't dawn on you what the film maker is trying to say in "Dogville" until well into the picture, and even then I think there's a wide range of interpretation possible. For me, it began to click when the town citizens began doubling their demands of Grace (Nicole Kidman) to do more work for less pay. But the 'taking advantage' didn't stop there, as most of Dogville's men folk began extracting their pound of flesh from her, in a manner of speaking. Perhaps the one person who violated Grace the most however, at least in my estimation, was Vera (Patricia Clarkson), who destroyed the only physical possessions Grace held dear while making her watch and challenging her not to cry. The symbolism of the chain is glaring, as Grace becomes a prisoner to the whims of Dogville's citizens with no hope of escape unless an outside force should intrude to coerce them into facing their inhumanity. The idea that the scenario presented was all a test designed by Grace and her father (James Caan - the unnamed Big Man) was something I thought about as the Big Man's thugs were given the go ahead to destroy the town. At last willing to face the truth about society's inhumanity, Grace participates in it's demise by personally shooting Tom (Paul Bettany), while asserting that "Some things you have to do yourself".

I wasn't quite sure how to take this film when it started out. For a while my disappointment with the excessive voice over narration and minimalist sets began to get real irritating. But after some time, the story took on the quality of a slow motion car wreck that one just has to take a good long look at to be sure nothing's missed. It's not the kind of movie I'd think of recommending to anyone though; much of the dialog is dense and even though there's a lot going on, it feels at times like things are standing still. And except for Nicole Kidman's character, almost all the rest seem static in their devotion to themselves. This is definitely not a picture for everyone, and something I just thought about that's kind of funny, for many viewers a good alternate title for the movie might have been 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'.